1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides an orientation of the study. It consists of four sections. The first section is the background of the study. In this section, the brief
summary of the major source of the study is presented and the reason why it is chosen in the study. The second section is the objective of the study. The aims in
conducting the study are stated here. The third section is the problem formulation. This section will present the three problems about this subject. The last section is
the definition of terms in which the terms used in the study will be defined.
A. Background of the Study
According to De Laar 1963, a novel is a work of art in so far as it introduces us into a living world; in some respect resembling the world we live in,
but with individuality of its own p.63. The novel studied here is Paulo Coelho‟s The Alchemist. It is about a journey of a Spanish shepherd boy named Santiago
who herds his sheep through Andalusia. He gets same dream twice when he is sleeping in a ruined old church during shepherding. The dream is about a hidden
treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Santiago is in love with the daughter of a merchant who has bought the
wool of his sheep once, in a city named Tarifa. He falls in love with that girl since the first time he met her. By the time he goes to the merchant to sell the wool and
especially to meet this girl again after a year passed, he goes to a fortuneteller in
1
2
Tarifa to interpret his dream. The fortuneteller tells him that the dream is a vision and he has to bring it into reality by going to Egypt and finding the treasure at the
Pyramids. Then he meets an old king named Melchizedek, who also tells him to follow his dream. Being so sure about his plan of realizing the dream and
encouraged by the king, he finally does not go to the merchant but sells his sheep and then starts his journey to Egypt instead. During the journey he meets many
people and situations. He has been cheated, lost all his money, then worked to earn money to go back to Spain and decided to cancel the journey, but then he
finds motivation again to continue the journey. Santiago meets people who inspire him and teach him to understand the
language of the world, to notice the omens because it is the sign from God that will lead him to his treasure, to learn contemplating, and to find the meaning of
pure love. One of those people he meets is an Alchemist, briefly is a man who can transform any metal into gold but is also considered as a wise man. The alchemist
guides Santiago through the desert. Then through the alchemist and the desert itself, Santiago discovers that his spirit has been transformed.
The researcher of this study believes that transformation is the most eternal thing in the universe. Everything on the face of earth continuously evolves
and changes from one state or form to another. This study will attempt to scrutinize how
Santiago‟s spiritual transformation reveals the philosophical teaching of alchemy tradition.
3
B. Objective of the Study
Kategori